What is "aegyptopithecus"

Aegyptopithecus \Aegyptopithecus\ n. 1. an extinct primate of about 38 million years ago; -- fossils were found in Egypt.

Aegyptopithecus, which means "Egyptian Monkey", from Greek Αίγυπτος (Egypt) and πίθηκος (ape or monkey), is an early fossil anthropoid that predates the divergence between hominoids (apes and humans) and cercopithecids (Old World monkeys). It is known from a single species, Aegyptopithecus zeuxis, which lived some 35-33 million years ago in the early part of the Oligocene epoch. It likely resembled modern-day New World monkeys, and was about the same size as a modern howler monkey, which is about long. Aegyptopithecus fossils have been found primarily in modern-day Egypt. Aegyptopithecus is believed to be a stem- catarrhine, a crucial link between Eocene and Miocene fossils.

Aegyptopithecus zeuxis has become one of the best known extinct primates based on craniodental and postcranial remains.